A nurse was arrested and charged Monday for lying about her work hours at Interfaith Medical Center and reaping more than $550,000 in unearned wages, the state attorney general said.
Keisha Demas, 41, was arraigned on several charges including grand larceny, criminal tax fraud and forgery for the alleged scheme she ran between 2013 and 2016. Demas allegedly worked with another employee at Interfaith who would make it appear as if she were working, according to acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood.
In addition to collecting an annual salary over $100,000, Demas obtained Medicaid benefits by lying that she had no salary, Underwood said. Her office said Demas had $30,000 of paid false Medicaid claims for two years.
“As we allege, this defendant stole from a community hospital, cheated Medicaid, and majorly underpaid taxes — leaving New Yorkers to foot the bill,” the attorney general said in a statement.
Demas also allegedly filed no personal income tax with the state and underpaid nearly $40,000, according to the indictment.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge William Miller set bail at $5,000 and adjourned the case to July 17.
